The story focuses on a woman named Sarah Collins. She is a hard-working business woman who has just received the news that she is being considered for a promotion. She lives with her somewhat immature boyfriend Matt, who can't keep focused on his current job long enough to avoid many "get rich quick" ideas. Sarah and Matt finally think they know where they are going. That is, until she finds out she is pregnant.
Everyone is shocked, including Sarah's mother and sister. Her mother and sister both attend church and have been trying to get her to come back for years. Ever since their father died 10 years ago, Sarah blamed it on God and refused to return. From the moment she finds out she's pregnant, she starts saying "I will absolutely not have an abortion." She's shaken a bit from her belief however, when her colleague and close friend at work start telling her how it will ruin her entire career.
Eventually, Sarah has a break down. She doesn't know what to do and she can't wait around for Matt. He's too busy trying to figure out how to get rich quick and she "can't wait for him to grow up". Sarah's friend tells her that she needs to have an abortion. Unbeknownst to Sarah, this friend had one when she was just 16 years old. The guilt haunts her and as they are driving past an abortion clinic, they see pro-life supporters. The friend yells at them to stop making her feel guilty. That's when Sarah starts to realize this might be a bad decision.
It doesn't stop there, however. The story kind of reminded me of a Christmas Carol. After going to a hospital soon after she discovers she's pregnant, Sarah meets an older version of herself. She gives her a Christmas card and tells her that she'll see three visions. And that's just what happens. Over the next three nights, Sarah sees what will happen if she keeps the baby. One of the visions is when Sarah's daughter, Daisy, is about 6 years old. She wakes up early and makes breakfast for Sarah and then the two go sledding for her birthday. I think this is the vision that got Sarah going in the right direction.
Matt is struggling with what to do throughout this entire situation. He tells his uncle what's going on, discovering that his aunt and uncle married because they got pregnant. During this discussion, Matt's uncle says two of the best lines in the entire movie. "Love isn’t this thing that just sticks to certain people. Love is the result of fighting for a commitment YOU made. Love is never giving up, even when you just can’t go on any more," and, "You can have the great stuff (in marriage) but you only get it by going through the bad stuff. The great stuff is real."
Sarah has one more vision near the end of the movie. It's actually more like two of them combined into one. The first part shows her and Matt as grandparents. Their daughter and her husband come over, with a little baby of their own in tow. Sarah keeps asking Matt, "Are you glad we did it?" He eventually asks, "Glad we did what?" "Glad we got married," she replies. He smiles and kisses her on the forehead, then says, "Yes, I am."
It cuts to a nursing home. Sarah overhears a nurse talking to another Sarah Collins. She asks Ms. Collins if she has any family and she replies, "No, I'm all alone." The nurse smiles sadly and says that she's not alone--she's got all of us (the nursing home staff). The nurse leaves and the younger Sarah tries to talk to her, but she doesn't see her. She steps into the room and realizes that the lady who the nurse was just talking to is the same lady who gave Sarah her Christmas card. The older Sarah Collins tells Sarah not to have an abortion, and says that she did, which means she'll die alone.
The next day, Sarah marches into work to tell her boss that she's pregnant. This makes it so she doesn't get the promotion, but she decides to trust God, giving her life to Him and trusting that He has a plan for all this. Matt soon comes over and asks Sarah to marry him, promising that he'll never leave her side.
I wouldn't recommend the movie for someone under 12 or 13, just because of the subject matter it deals with. It's a wonderful story and it's easy to relate to the characters, even if you have never been through something like that. From the time you find out that Sarah is pregnant to the time she finally makes the decision to accept Christ into her life and keep the baby, you're rooting for her to do the right thing. And she eventually does, thanks to the many prayers of her mother and sister.
